Sales-register



J. L. MORRIS.

SALES REGISTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18. ms.

1,31%103w V PatentedSept. 16, 1919.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I. L. MORRIS.

SALES REGISTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I8. 19m,

i 3 1E, H 1 U@ I Patented Iept 16, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- Til lli

JOSHUA. LINCOLN MiOBRIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SALES-'REGISTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 16, 1919.

Application filed January 18, 1918. Serial. No. 212,513.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSHUA LINCOLN MOR- MS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sales-Re isters; and I do hereby declare that the to lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sales registers and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly 7 pointed out in the appended claims.

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The object of the invention is to provide what may be called a pocket sales register, that is to'say, asales register which may be carried in the pocket and he at hand in the possession of the salesman in the same manher and with the same case of disposal about his clothing as a common memorandum or manifold sales book.

Tn the case of nearly every business, one situation is confronted, which is not met either by cash registers, autographic regis ters, or by sales books. amples illustrate such situation.

In the case of counter sales, where at present a sales slip book is used, it is possible for the salesman to change or alter the amounts entered on his -loose leaf record slip as compared to those on the check or receipt slip to be handed to the purchaser, and by conspiring with others in the employ of the shop, to give the purchaser an acceptable receipt for'the cash paid, part of which may be pocketed without detection and only the remaining part returned to the cashier.

Again, in the case of outside salesmen, as for example, salesmen at gasolene service stations, Where the sales are made quickly and amounts paid are hurriedly given to the salesmen without the purchaser waiting for a cash receipt for the amount paid, it is possible for great confusion and loss to occur in the amounts returned by the salesmen, either on account of dishonesty on the part of the salesmen or on account of the hurry and confusion'of the sale themselves and the impossibility of making out the necessary sales and record slips.

Uther examples will readily occur to those The following exaction on the other side.

familiar with the matter, to illustrate the inadequacy of present devices to fully meet the situation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pocket sales register which may be used either on the counter or on the street, in the use of which it is absolutely essential for the salesman to make a record of every sale made and to give the purchaser a receipt check, and to do this without any possibility of his altering or changing the record.

The many advantages of the invention grill appear as I proceed with my specifica- 11 the drawings Figure 1 is a View re resenting in perspec' tive, my improved poc ct sales register.

Fig. 2 is a view representing a longitudinal central section through the register in a plane indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view representing, on an enlarged scale, a transverse section through the device in a plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. p

Fig. 4E is a view representing a transverse section throu h the device in a plane indi' cated by the line H ofFig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a partial, longitudinal section through the device in a plane indicated by the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a view substantially on the scale of Fig. 1 showing one ofihthe two parts which comprise the casing of t e device.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view representing one of the two like operating parts of the register. t

Fig. 8 i a view representing the ink rib bon and its support.

The improved pocket register, as illustrated herein, is designed to take care of two different kinds of transactions. For example, it may be designed to take care of a cash transaction on one side and charge transbe designed to take care of a charge or paid transaction on one side and a C. O. D. transaction on the other side. It may also be designed for other transactions similarly associated in pairs, depending upon the particular salesman who is to use it, and the nature of the business. r

Thus the present embodiment of the invention, as illustrated herein, includes two separate and distinc regis e d ices, one ct Again, it" may which is accessible from one side of the pocketregister, and the other of which is accessible from the reverse side, and as shown, is located at the opposite end of the register.

Referring now to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings :l0, 10 indicate two opposed, flanged plates which provide an inclosing casing for the register, made of separable parts. The sald plates are, made of a length and width and with a depth of flange such that when assembled, the casing formed is of pocket size and maybe conveniently held in one hand.

for use. Said plates are locked together b means of locking devices 11, 11 placed pre erably' on opposite sides of the casing and adapted to be locked or unlocked by means of a key or keys held as usual in the hands of the cashier or of another person in authority. v

Within the casing are located two register devices indicatedrespectively at 12 and 13. As each of the register devices as shown herein, are of like construction, a'description of one will sufiice for both.

The register device 12', is shown in perspective in Fig. 7. It has a frame 14" comprising side bearingplates 14, 14, spaced apart, a distance equal to the space between the flangesof the plates 10, 10, and an end plate 15. A top plate or platen '16, extending transversely between the plates, 1s sup: ported in any convenient fashion on the top edgeof said plates. As shown, said platen has locking extensions 16* which engage in notches 17 in the top edges of the side plates 14. Supply rolls 18, 19 are rotatively supported by the side bearing plates 14, 14 in a position below the platen 16. One of said rolls, namely: the roll l8, is a check strip supply roll, and the other, 19, is a record strip supply roll.

Near the forward end of the frame 14 and below the platen 16, is located a record stri rewind roll 20.- Forward of that are fee rolls 21, 22, between which are fed the check. strip andrecord strip, the first being fed forward beyond the register to be torn off as will be presently described, and the other being fed between said rolls and then ,back about the lower roll 22 and thence to the rewind roll 20.

At the rear end of the platen 16 are placed idle rolls 18, 19, with their top surfaces in the plane of said platen. About said rolls are threaded respectively, the check strip 18 and the record strip 19 to bring them in po-- sition upon the top of the platen. Between the adjacent plate 14 of the frame 14.

the platen and is free at its forward end, the feed of the two strips being relied upon to hold the ribbon in smooth, liat engagement between the two strips.

Each of the spindles upon which the check strip roll 18, the record strip roll 19 and the rewind roll 20 are wound, are constructed and mounted in the side bearing plates 14, 14 of the frame 14 in the same manner. Each comprises a mandrel 26, upon which the paper roll is placed, and spring controlled, expanding spindle parts 27, 27 adapted for engagement in bearing openings 28, 28 in the side plates 14. By pressing the spindle parts 27, 27 inwardly, each spindle with its mandrel -may be withdrawn from the frame 14 when it is necessary to replace the record and check strip rolls, and to facilitate their withdrawal from the frame and also their re-insertion into place, guide channels 29, 29 of a familiar kind are provided on the inside walls of the side plates of the frame.

The feed rolls 21, 22 are rotatively mounted in any suitable manner in the side bearing plates 14, 14 and are provided adjacent one of said plates with interengaging spur gears 21, 22 respectively. A. gear 30 is fixed on one of the spindle parts 27 of the record strip rewind roll 20 in the plane of the gears 21 22. In the plane of the several gears 21, 22 and 30, is placed an operating,

gear 31 which engages the gears 21 and th gear 30. Said gear 31 is mounted on a stud 32 rotatively mounted in the adjacent plate 14 and prolonged beyond the same, which has attached to it a knurled operating head 33, by means of which it may be rotated.

The bearing side plates 14 of the frame 14* are made somewhat deeper at their front ends to provide bearings for the top feed roll 21, substantially in or; somewhat above the plane of the platen 16. The end plate 15 has a horizontal flange or rear extension 34 which lies above and provides a top closure for the gears heretofore mentioned. The

spindles of the feed rolls 21, 22 and of the idle, guide rolls 18*, 19, are nonremovably mounted in the side plates 14.

In the end plate 15 of the frame 14, is formed a slot 36 through which the check strip is to be fed. A plate 37 with its bottom edge in line with the top edge of said slot 36, is fixed to the end plate 15 to reinforce and brace said plate adjacent the slot and also to provide a stiff, cutting edge against which the check strip may be torn when detaching a check to give to the purchaser. To prevent back ratcheting of the gears, a spring controlled or resilient pawl 38 is provided for engagement with the operating gear 31. Said pawl is attached to A. tension device is rovided for properly holding the two feed rolls in engagement with -i,aie,ics

the superimposed. record and check strips. As shown, this consists of a transversely extending, sprin bar 39 (see Figs. 4: and 5) having upwar ly extending arms 39 with rounded notches for engagement with the ends of the spindle of the bottom feed roll and of a finger lever i0 pivoted against the inside face of the end plate 15 near the middle of said plate and below said bar 39, which has an arm 41 for engagement with the bottom end of said bar. Manifestly, by swinging the lever, the upwardly extending arms of the bar may be caused to induce pressure as desired between the two feed rollsw the frictional engagement of a screw 40 which provides the pivotal support for the lever, acting to hold the lever in any position in which it is placed. In order to facilitate this operation of the tension device, the spindle bearing ends of the lower feed roll- 22 are mounted in vertically elongated slots 22" in each side plate 14:.

Each register device, as thus described, is complete in itself and may be removed from or inserted into the casing as an entirety. Each plate 10 is provided with a slot 42 near one end extendlng transversely across its face and being of an extent to disclose the part of the check strip which lies above the associated platen 16.

Beyond the slot 42, said plate is raised as indicated'at t3, and the side and end flanges of the plate adjacent thereto, are deepened to accommodate the difl'erence in depth at the end of the frame of the register device, as clearly appears in Figs. 1 and 6. One side flange 10 also of each plate 10 is cut to receive the prdjecting art of the operating stud 32, so that the operating head 33 may extend beyond the outer surface of the flange 10".. i

in assembling the pocket register, one register device (after it has been loaded with the record and check strip supply rolls and after the strips have. been fed over the platen by the feed rolls and the record strip has been partially wound upon the rewind roll 20, all in a familiar manner), is placed within the side and end flanges of one plate 10 with-its platen 16 below the associated open ing 4.2 in said plate 10 and with the deeper part of the frame 14: engaged under the raised part 43 of the .plate 1Q. The other register device is, in a simllar manner, placed in the other plate 10, and the two plates brought together, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the platens of the register devices on reverse sides and directed in opposite directions,the register devices each being half the length of the plates so that they will abut against each other at their adjacent ends. The two lates are then locked together by means 0 the locking devices 11, 11 heretofore referred to.

When thus assembled, and locked, there will be left, in the embodiment of the invention shown, in which the flanges of the lates 10, 10 are not quite as deep as the-side plates 14, 14 of the register frames 14:", slots at at the ends of the casing which are in line with the slots 36 in the end plates 15 of the register frames 14:. Through said slots the check strips are threaded and the pocket register is then in condition for use.

The operation of the improved pocket register will be manifest from the foregoing descriptlon. Its immediate advantages may be illustrated by particular reference to .one of the examples of its use referred to in the preamble of the specification. I

Suppose it provided with record strips,

one on one side for cash sales and oneon the other side for charge sales, and the check strips printed for use in connection with a amount of gas required, has it drawn into the tank of the machine. He then proceeds to the driver and either from previous knowledge or by question, learns whether the purchase is to be a cash or charge account. In either case, having his pocket sales register in hand, which he has in the meantime withdrawn from his pocket, he enters the number of gallons bought and the cost of the same on the charge side of the register or on the cash side, and in the latter case, by the time the driver has his cash ready to hand him, he has entered the sale and by rotating the proper knurled head 33, withdrawn and torn off the receipt check to hand to the driver in return for the cash received.

In this way, he has necessarily produced a record of the sale which is unchangea-bly recorded in the register and which shows the amount received and the number of gallons purchased whether the driver has retained the receipt himself or has torn it up and thrown it away. The same result, namely an unchangeable record in the register, is brought about in the case of a charge sale, where the driver is more apt to insist upon and retain the receipt for the amount bought. 4

It will be apparent that the record in the register will be an absolute check on whatever is done by the salesman in the way of giving or not giving receipts, since there must be in the register for each length of check strip to be issued, a corresponding way limited thereto except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pocket sales register comprising a casing including top and bottom flanged plates, one of which has a writing. opening therein, a register unit removably secured in 1 said casing and embraced by the flanges of said plates, said register unit including a platen arranged beneath said writing opening and containing a support for a check strip supply and a support for a record strip supply, which check strip and record strip are adapted to be fed over the platen in superposed relation, said unit also containing a transfer means between the check strip and the record strip below said writing opening, and means within the register unit and operable from without the casing for feeding the check strip outwardly from the casing and for storing up the record strip within the register unit.

2. A pocket sales register comprising a flat, shallow casing including a plurality of parts, means for locking said parts together, two register units placed end to end in said casing, each having a platen and containing supporting means for a check stri and for a record strip, and an interpose transfer means between said check strip and said record strip, the casing being provided with a writing opening for each platen, and meansassociated with each register unit and operable from the outside of the casing for feeding the check strip of each register unit outwardly from the casing.

3. A pocket sales register comprising a casing including top and bottom, similar, flanged plates and two register units arranged end to end within said casing and embraced by the flanges of said plates, each register unit having a platen and the casing having writing openings corresponding to said platens, each-aegister unit containing supporting means for a check strip and a record strip, and an interposed transfer means between said check stri and record strip, and means associated with each register unit and operable from the outside of the casing for feeding the check strip of each register unit outwardly from the casing.

4. A pocket sales register comprising a casing including oppositely disposed, flanged plates, each having a writing opening therein, one at one end of the casing and the other at the opposite end of the casing, two register units placed end to end 1n said casing and embraced by the flanges of said plates, each containing a support for a check strip and a support for a record strip, and an interposed transfer means between the two, and means associated with each register unit and operable from the outside of the register unit outwardly from the casing.

5. In a. device of the kind described, a register unit comprising a U-shaped frame, open at top and bottom and provided with a slot in its transverse end wall, a platen parallel to said U-shaped frame, idle rolls rotatively mounted in the side. members of said U-shaped frame, at the rear end of said platen, a supporting roll for a record stri and a supporting roll for a check strip, eac removably mounted. in said side members, the record strip and check strip being arranged to unroll toward said idle rolls and .over said platen, feed rolls mounted in said side frame members in advance of said platen and to the rear of the opening in the transverse member thereof, a rewind roll for the record strip removably mounted in said side member back of said feed rolls, and gearing and operating means for rotating said feed rolls and said rewind rolls.

6. In a register of the kind described, a register unit comprising a frame including parallel side members and a slotted, transverse end member, a platen connecting the parallel side members of the frame at their top edges, said platen terminating at one end near said transverse end number, idle rolls, journaled in the side members of the frame at the other end of the platen, a supportin roll for a record strip, and a support ing rol for a check strip, removably ]ournaled in said side members of the frame, be

neath the platen, the record strip and the check strip being arranged to unroll rearwardly and. about an associated idle roll and then over said platen in superposed relation, attaching means for a transfer member adapted to be interposed between the record strip and the check strip above the platen, a rewind roll removably journaledin the said side members of the frame below the said first mentioned end of the platen, a pair of feed rolls journaled in the side members of the frame, between the said first mentioned end of the platen and the slotted, transverse end member of the frame, and gearing connecting the feed rolls to ether and connecting said feed rolls with t e rewind roll, said gearing being constructed to feed the record strip through the slot in the end member of the frame and to wind up the record strip on the record strip rewind roll.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 10th day of January, A. D. 1918.

JOSHUA LINCOLN MORRIS. 

